As is well known, a variety of land clearing apparatuses, predominantly in the form of attachment to rubber tired or track mounted carriers, have been utilized for clearing debris, brush and trees from undeveloped land. Generally, it is preferred to utilize land clearing apparatuses which have a horizontally disposed shaft, or rotor, as they are capable of cutting closer to the ground, provide for an improved visual operator control and are considered safer as they dispose of the remnants in the forward direction only.
Prior art land clearing machines have been generally equipped with swinging hammer type blade cutters that, although being sufficient to producing a fine shred remnant, will not tolerate impact with rocks and therefore are not suitable for cutting below the ground level, increase maintenance costs associated with replacement of the dull blade cutters and defective shafts these blade cutters swing on and increase maintenance costs associated with repair and rebalancing of the fatigued and cracked rotors these blade cutters are mounted to.
Furthermore, in some applications it is desirable to direct the shredded remnants toward the ground to further enhance the safety conditions of the personnel as well as eliminate reintroduction of such shredded remnants back into the cutting area.